The embodiments of the invention disclosed herein relate to mechanisms for enabling application of information (for example, as contained on a label) to an object.
It is frequently necessary to apply identifying information to objects such as bins and drawers used for the storage of parts, tooling, fasteners, and other types of hardware, and also to other types of storage containers. Some problems with existing methods for applying information to such objects include an inability to orient the surface to which the information is applied, to enable viewing of the applied information from various locations or positions. In addition, constraints on the size of the surface to which the information is applied may correspondingly restrict the size of any text printed on the surface and the ability of the text to be read.
One product exemplifying such concerns is a case used for holding, protecting and identifying compact discs, digital videodiscs, and mini-discs. Such cases have been in existence in various forms since the “disc” media storage format came into public use, and are well-known in the art. The basic case design incorporates a tray base into which a disc tray is placed for the purpose of holding the disc, and a hinged cover that pivots with respect to the tray base to enclose the tray. Information identifying the disc contents may be applied to a flap attached to an inside of the case cover. The case also has a “spine label” area along which information identifying the disc and/or its contents may be placed. These cases are frequently stacked so that the only portion of the case visible from the stack is the spine label area. In the event that multiple discs are stacked on top of one another, information applied to the spine label area is used to identify contents of the disc without removing the disc from the stack to expose its cover.
However, due to the small depth of the case, the spine label area on which identifying information may be applied is only approximately ¼ inch in height. This severely restricts the size and visibility of any printed information appearing on the spine label area. Identification of the content of stacked cases using information appearing on the “spine area” may be very difficult beyond a certain distance, even for people with normal vision. For people with a vision impairment, such identification may become almost impossible.
In addition, depending on the type of information stored on the disc, an inability to rapidly identify the contents of a particular disc could be costly in terms of lost time and/or revenue. Also, under certain circumstances, such an inability to rapidly identify the case contents could be life-threatening. For example, an instance may arise where vital medical information stored on a server suddenly becomes unavailable due to a system crash, and backup hard storage media (such as a CD-ROM) must be consulted in an emergency situation. In this instance, rapid identification of the information stored on the storage media becomes essential.
Currently, without physically handling the case to read the ¼ inch spine label area, exposing the complete case to look at the cover information, or opening the case and removing the disc, there is no easy way to identify the contents. This is inconvenient, time consuming, and frustrating to someone attempting to ascertain the contents of the disc.
Thus, a need exists for an information application mechanism which addresses such concerns.